Hungry for You
by Saengak
Summary: They don't really care what the food chain dictates, but things are more complicated than that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** As for any Tokyo Ghoul AU fic, please be warned that there will be cannabilism.

I'm just using Tokyo Ghoul's premise and not any of its characters. For those in the Naruto fandom who are not familiar with Tokyo Ghoul, the premise is that: (1) humans and ghouls exist, and (2) ghouls eat humans. Ethical conundrums, violence, and tragedy abound.

Although I try to describe things as they appear, you might also want to check out the glossary below for a quick explanation of the terms used.

* * *

"Ao, Ao, look at this," Mei giggles as she shoves her phone into his face.

He clasps her hand to pull the screen away, narrowing his eyes against the glare of the screen to focus on the tiny words. "Anglerfish?" he murmurs, letting Mei lead him through the dark, deserted streets by the arm that he'd wrapped around her waist. A glimpse of the deep sea creature's misshapen face makes him grimace. "I don't think it'll survive in our aquarium."

Mei rolls her eyes. "I _know_ that. I was showing you the paragraph about how glowing bacteria in the anglerfish's lure help them attract prey." She holds her phone before her, shining the lit screen about to mimic the anglerfish's protruding lure. Ao snorts at her antics. "They have a symbiotic relationship, like us," Mei explains with a smirk and a waggle of her eyebrows.

"I resent being compared to bacteria," he says flatly. "And you're far to pretty to be some weird fish." He tries to give her a peck on the cheek but she bats him away, laughing.

As they head deeper into the abandoned residential area, Ao glances at the rundown alleys suspiciously. There were a spate of murders in this region just last week, but there doesn't seem to be anyone about tonight. Ao turns back to Mei, sighing. "Mei—"

"Hold my phone," she interrupts, her eyes glinting. "They're coming."

His gaze snaps up, but he cannot spot anything beyond the dim pools of yellow that the street lights have cast onto the rain-damp tarmac. "Hmm, be careful," Ao murmurs, slipping the device into his pockets as he withdraws his arm from her waist.

Before she can reply, a shadow darts out of the dilapidated house to their right, flying straight at them like a bullet. Mei turns, mask already forming over her face, as she blocks the downwards sweep of a sword-like koukaku with a crimson tentacle sprouting from her lower back. The night lights up in a spray of orange sparks, showering them with stinging particles.

The red-on-black eyes of the ghoul widens comically as he quickly falls back a safe distance away, holding his sword-arm as he eyes the two of them warily. "You're a ghoul," he observes quietly, his voice muffled by his leather mask. "He's with you?"

Mei just shrugs as her kagune tentacles, four in total, wrap and meld against her curves to form a heavy set of armour. "You should have considered the possibility before you tried to take a bite," she says, confidence written in the tilt of her hip. Ao can almost image the smirk behind her fearsome, fanged mask. She looks like some kind of ancient samurai, Ao muses, though there is something supernatural about the way that her long auburn hair spills down her back, like a river of fire against the volcanic-black plates of her armour. ''He's mine," Mei declares, and Ao's heart pounds against his ribcage.

More ghouls have surrounded them. There are three by his count: two women, one with ukaku wings and the other with a bikaku tail, and another man, who has a koukaku sword like the first ghoul who had attacked them. Altogether, they appear to be a well rounded team.

They should be enough to feed Mei for half a month, at least.

The first ghoul holds up his free hand placating gesture, and lets his weapon-arm drop to his side in surrender. "Hey, no harm done." His gaze flickers from Ao to Mei with unease, clearly disturbed by Mei's protectiveness and Ao's lack of crying and begging. "We won't bother you and your pet anymore, yeah?"

"What the hell," one of the female ghouls retorts, her tail slamming into the ground angrily. "Yuro, you coward. It's four against one!"

"He smells tasty. I don't mind fighting for a bite," her friend giggles as she leers at Ao with blatant hunger. Her ukaku wings glitter in the moonlight as she sticks the tip of her tongue out and winks.

Ao scowls and resists the urge to shift under their scrutiny. His skin is crawling. It's different, somehow, when it's Mei pressing her nose against his neck and telling him how much he smells like a five-course meal. When he's with her, his survival instincts roll belly-up.

"You idiots," Yuro hisses, but Ao can already feel Mei's short temper flaring. Her very surroundings heat up when she's angry, and she exhales in streams of dense white fog.

In swift movement that startles everyone except Ao, she tosses her head and spits a thick wave of viscous liquid over nearest ghoul, sending her into pained shrieks as the unusual heat of Mei's RC cells plasters her to the ground and starts cooking her alive. Shouting, her friends leap to her rescue with barrage of blade-like ukaku feathers, but Mei deflects the projectiles easily with another burst of "lava" - as she calls it - from her mask. Her armoured hand seizes the bare blade of the second koukaku-user and with a swift jab of her knee, she shatters the facsimile sword into two. She hurls her portion towards the ukaku-user like a javelin, impaling the woman through the stomach and sending her crashing from the sky. The next second, the koukaku user also smashes into the ground, his neck broken by a good kick to the head and his skull leaking over the road like a cracked egg.

It's all over in a blink of an eye. As Ao expected, these are only small fry compared to Mei. When she turns around, Yuro is scrambling away as fast as his legs can carry him.

"Will that be alright?" Ao asks, watching Yuro disappear with concern. "He saw your face."

Mei shakes her head, her red-black eyes blinking at him from the slitted eye-holes of her mask. "It's fine," she says, her voice distorted slightly. She rounds back and, ignoring the burnt ghoul's shrieking, decapitates each of the incapacitated ghouls with brutal efficiency. Ao swallows uncomfortably as he watches their heads roll, even though he knows that it is necessary. They have faced ghouls with freakish levels of regenerative capability before.

Mei brushes herself off when she is done, her armour peeling away and turning back into her usual rinkaku tentacles before they disperse. Impatient, she breaks off the mask and crushes the shards in her hand. "The ghouls around town are aware about my existence anyway. This might be good for my street cred," she says jokingly. She smiles at him, her cheeks dimpling, as her sclera fades from the black it had been. "And it'll be good for your protection."

Ao exhales heavily through his nose and shakes his head in fond exasperation. He wishes he doesn't have to rely on Mei, but the average human has no chance against a ghoul. Every time he sees Mei dispatch other ghouls without breaking a sweat, he is relieved by her strength. He can't protect her, but she does well enough by herself.

He'll just continue acting as a lure and keep her well fed. Symbiotic relationship, indeed.

Mei draws him out of his thoughts with a brief press of her lips against his. "Hey. Pass me the backpack and I'll be done with this in a moment, yeah?"

He kisses her back and doesn't let his perturbation show on his face. "Sure."

He goes to the side of the road and sits down on the curb, taking out Mei's phone to distract himself from the sounds of corpses being chopped up and packed away. Mei says he has a danger kink the size of Mount Fuji, and Ao can't really disagree when he's married to a predator of his kind, but corpse-processing is a bit much for his stomach. Even after all these years and a fridge dedicated Mei's meals, it still makes him queasy to imagine her eating. He just wishes he were a good enough liar that Mei doesn't know he still feels this way.

If Mei hadn't saved him all those years ago, he'd have long since died as some ghoul's supper. Mei hadn't completed her kakuja transformation then. She'd been half-mad with it, unable to go out in daylight for fear of losing her mind at the scent of people on the street, but by some fateful design, she'd been out hunting that night. She'd fought off the ghoul who had cornered Ao.

"I don't eat innocent humans," she'd gritted out between large bites of the ghoul she'd defeated. Shaking in the corner of the gore-splattered alley, Ao was in too much shock to do anything but stare.

She's a vigilante, Ao discovered later. A consumer of criminals, ghouls, and CCG officers.

At first, it had been obligation (and his danger kink, as Mei likes to remind him) that kept him knocking on her apartment door. But between paying her utility bills and helping her collect special sugar cubes from her favourite coffee shop, something changed. When he lay in bed at night, he'd start worrying about her, out there in the dark fighting ghouls alone so she could eat back her sanity, piece by bloody piece. He'd dream of CCG officers swarming her apartment and wake up in cold sweat, his fingers itching for his phone so he could call her. It was utter insanity, Ao knew. She reminded him as much each time he turned up. But by then, he had already fallen for the tentative smiles that lit her eyes.

Does anyone really deserve to be made into food? Ao doesn't know. They are all still human in the ways that mattered, even ghouls.

Ao hates how their universe works, but he loves Mei more than anything. Even perhaps his own life.

"Deep thoughts?"

His head snaps up and Mei's sad smile greets him. Clearing his throat, he stands and hand her her phone back. The screen had gone dark without him even noticing. "Just wondering whether I should try to glow in the dark next time," he says lightly.

She chuckles weakly, fiddling with the strap of the backpack in an uncharacteristic show of nerves. "I'll string some lights on you. You'll look great."

Ao slips an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and determinedly not looking back at the mess that the road must be. He presses his nose against her hair, trying to find her sweet scent beneath the metallic stench in the air. "Don't be silly," he murmurs, glad when she relaxes against him. "C'mon, let's go home."

* * *

 **A/N:** I don't think this will become a proper story, but I might write a bit more of this AU :)

Hope you all enjoyed! :) I can't believe I need to say this but... disclaimer: I do not support cannibalism in real life. I am actually quite squicked, but the predator/prey dynamics of Tokyo Ghoul are too delicious— I mean, interesting.

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 _Kagune:_ The predatory organ of ghouls, which they use to fight. They come out from the back and can be categorised into four types: _ukaku_ (wing-like), _koukaku_ (sword-like), _rinkaku_ (tentacles) and _bikaku_ (tail-like).  
 _RC cells_ : Blood-like cells which make up kagune.  
 _Kakugan:_ Ghoul eyes which appear as black sclera + red irises.  
 _Kakuja:_ An evolved, powerful type of ghoul which have stronger/unique kagune. Ghouls can attain this evolution by eating other ghouls.  
 _Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG)_ : Human organisation which kills, captures and suppresses ghouls.  
 _Investigators/Doves_ : Humans which work for the CCG.  
 _Quinque:_ Tools which humans use to fight ghouls. They're made from kagune harvested from dead ghouls and are kept in steel briefcases.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So... This story grew a plot... :P Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

* * *

They wake up as they usually do _—_ with Mei plastered against his bare back and wrapped around him like an octopus.

"Mei," Ao murmurs, his voice tinged with amusement. "Time to let go. I have brats to teach."

"Mmm, don't want to," she whines, nuzzling against his back and enjoying the rumble of his voice. "You're mine." She hugs him tighter with both her arms and her extended kagune to punctuate her point, making him wheeze.

" _Mei_ ," he gasps, pushing in vain at the tentacles constricting him. "My ribs."

"What about them, dear?" Pressing a kiss to the line of his shoulder blade, she tangles her kagune further around his limbs to trap his arms and legs as well. Ao groans in protest, straining against her grip to kick at her shins. Mei can't help but laugh. " _Ao._ "

He huffs at the way she imitates his tone and peers over his shoulder, eyes narrowed in warning. "Five minutes, Mei. No bargaining." The twitching corner of his mouth gives him away.

With a satisfied sound, she buries her face between his shoulders and breathes in deep. There is no fear in his scent, only a languid contentment with a hint of exasperation, and she's suddenly in love all over again with her fearless husband.

Humans are so soft and fragile. His pale underbelly hollows with his shallow breaths, offering no protection at all to the collection of delicate organs laying vulnerable beneath her splayed hand. The curve of his ribs is a brittle shield, more liable to splinter into shards than to protect him against the crushing coils of her kagune. There's not a single part of his body that's strong enough to withstand her if she wants to make him bleed, yet...

He's still here, laying in her arms and relaxed enough to drift along the twilight between sleep and wakefulness. She holds his trust like she holds him now, tight with possessiveness but gentle with gratitude. The beat of his heart beneath her ear is a comfort; the rise and fall of his chest a lulling constant. She'd sooner die than to betray him; sooner starve than to make him bleed.

When she's with him, she feels human.

The five minutes pass too quickly. At his pointed squirming, she loosens her grip reluctantly, bracing herself for the coldness that will creep in to replace him. But instead of leaving, he turns around and throws his arm around her. Nervousness sparks up her spine as he faces at her, the vestiges of insecurity and fear about the freakishness of her red-on-black eyes haunting her.

There's nothing but gentleness in his gaze as he kisses her, however. "I have a meeting today, but I should be back by six."

Mei nips back at his lip. "I'll cook something for you."

He smirks. "Please follow a recipe this time."

Rolling her eyes, she pinches his arm lightly. "That was _one_ time!"

"Tuna, with chocolate sauce!" Ao shudders.

Her face shines with mirth. "You ate it all though," she says, more softly than she intended.

"Well, you had to accompany me to the faculty lunch, so it's more than fair," Ao replies, giving her another peck before slipping out of bed. "See you."

"Mm." She burrows back under the blankets, conserving their combined warmth, and watches him brush his teeth with a silly smile on her face.

Mei slides the flour coated shrimps and vegetables into Ao's fridge and stretches her arms, groaning as she rotates her neck. The shrimps had been difficult to peel, their shells slippery and sharp, but they're part of any tempura dish. She'll fry them before Ao comes back, cook some miso soup and rice, and they'll be all set. Humming along with the pop song playing on the radio, Mei sets about cleaning the kitchen. It doesn't require as thorough a cleaning as it had last night, after she'd dealt with _her_ food, so she finds herself distracted.

For such a small kitchen, it's certainly odd that they have two fridges. If not for the risk of incurring further suspicion, Mei would have installed two sets of sinks as well, to keep their food entirely separate. Quite apart from wanting to avoid those queasy looks that Ao so hard to hide, cross-contamination is a real issue. Mei's robust immunity kills just about anything, but humans fall sick so easily. As it is, she makes liberal use of detergent and alcohol to sterilise everything.

Mei gives the kitchen a critical once over when she's done and nods, satisfied. As long as no-one sneaks a peek into her fridge, it looks just about as normal as it can be. Now, maybe she can get started on that article Ao wanted her help proofread, or start writing the next chapter of her novel...

" _It's me, bitch!_ " Mei nearly shrieks when her phone suddenly blares out in her friend Tsunade's loud, drunken voice. "Get me another bottle!"

Groaning under her breath, Mei snatches up her phone before it can vibrate off the counter-top. Tsunade must have changed her ringtone without telling her, again. "You!" she growls.

"Ha, ha, like it?" Tsunade laughs on the other end of the line. "Tell me Ao is frowning over your shoulder right now."

Mei purses her lips. "He's at the uni today."

"Aww, you're pouting," Tsunade says. "Want me to come over?"

"You just want to steal my food," Mei protests, although she's already fluffing the pillows on the sofa.

"If you just kept some sake, I wouldn't touch your food," Tsunade huffs.

"I'm not buying you booze," Mei scolds. "It's unbecoming."

"Geez, when did the stick up Ao's arse go up yours? That's some real kinky stuff you're getting up to _—_ "

"Tsunade!" Mei drags her hand over her face in exasperation before remembering that she'd get wrinkles that way. She snatches her hand back and scowls. "Just come over. And get out by five, I'll have to air the room."

"Thanks babe." She can almost hear Tsunade's smug smirk. "I'm right downstairs."

"What?!" Mei squawks, but Tsunade laughs and hangs up. Sighing again, Mei goes to put on her coat.

"I don't understand you can stand it," Tsunade says, inhaling deeply as she lounges in the sofa's soft embrace.

Mei shrugs helplessly, waiting for the water to boil so they can have coffee. "Practice, I suppose." It's moreso the memory of Ao's terrified, blood-streaked face back in that dark little alley that stops her hunger in its tracks, though. She never wants him to look like that again, much less because of something she'd done.

Tsunade is polite enough, at least, that she refrains from salivating over Ao's scent overly much. Instead, she pads into the kitchen and starts rummaging around Mei's fridge. "Ew," she complains the moment she opens the first plastic container, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "You only have ghoul meat?"

"You know how hard it is to find the right humans..."

Tsunade scoffs and shoves the container back in with the others. "With a figure like that, Mei?"

"I'm not catfishing perverts, Tsunade," Mei says firmly, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear and fixing her friend with a stern look.

The other ghoul shrugs. "Your loss."

Mei's brow crinkles in concern as she focuses on filtering the coffee. "You should be careful. They have ways to track your internet usage nowadays."

"I know. I have methods." With a wink, Tsunade plucks two cups from the cupboard, then the sugar.

Mei snorts. "As if. You're probably using the hospital's computers and blaming it on the staff."

"That's what Orochimaru does."

The coffee nearly spills from her hands. "That snake-like freak? Catfishing?"

The buxom blonde shrugs. "It's the hair, I think."

Mei shudders and presses the heel of her hand to her forehead, her eyes fluttering closed. "I'm going to have nightmares."

"Tell me about it," Tsunade agrees dryly.

Shaking her head silently, Mei finishes preparing the coffee and sips deeply from it. It's bitter as always, even after a generous helping of sugar. She has learnt to not hate it, even when it reminds her of her teenage years. She'd been a shaking, caffeine-addicted wreck back then, desperate to feel more human, even just a little. But it doesn't work that way.

"Hey," Tsuande says, setting down her own coffee on the counter and reaching for the pocket of her jeans. "This was your mailbox. I thought you probably wouldn't want anyone to see."

Feeling as if ice had been doused over her, Mei accepts the crinkled envelope. The stylised waves of Kiri have been stamped over back of the envelope, stark black on white. Within the boundaries of each of the four S-shaped waves, the whites and blacks form an intricate, circular pattern reminiscent of overlapping ripples. It's real.

"Was there anyone there?" Mei asks urgently, raising it to her nose. There's a trace of sweat from handling the paper, but it's no-one she recognises. But then, she has been gone a long time.

Her friend shakes her head. Her golden eyes are solemn. "Didn't smell of anyone either."

Dread curls low in her stomach. "Excuse me," Mei mumbles apologetically before heading for her bedroom, shutting the door behind her and bracing her back against it. She tears open the flap of the envelope with trembling hands, almost ripping into its contents in her haste. With her heart thudding in her throat, she reaches inside.

They're photos. Glossy sheets of thick rectangular paper, tacky under her fingers and smelling of sour ink. They're all of Ao going about his day.

Commuting, with his head bowed over his phone.

Walking across the university grounds.

Eating in the canteen.

Taking the lift.

The glossy frames slip through her shaking hands, spilling onto the ground as she sucks in a terrified gasp. They are stalking him all the way to work and then back home, even getting into the same lift. They could have killed him right then and there.

But they hadn't. Instead, they'd taken these photos of him, and sent them to her...

Mei falls down on her knees and gathers all the photos together with quick sweeps of her hand. She flips each one of them until she finds a message written on on the photo of Ao having lunch in the canteen: _"Don't play with your food."_

In a flash, Mei is on her feet and tearing open the door, intent on running off to the campus right now. Who know what they'd already done to him? Her mind spins in dizzying circles and she's caught in the quicksand of her memories.

Kiri offers no mercy.

"Whoa, Mei! What happened?" Tsunade blocks the door and Mei snarls in panic.

"Out of the way!"

The other ghoul's expression hardens. "Sit down and talk to me. You can't go out in this state. Your kakugan is showing!"

Mei's hand shoots up to her face, her shock dislodging her from her spiralling thoughts. It has been years since she'd involuntarily shown her kakugan. Shaken at how easily she could have outed herself, she allows Tsunade to steer her onto the sofa.

"They know," Mei whispers, wringing her hands. "About Ao..."

"You're sure it's Kiri?"

Mei nods mutely. Kiri was the ghoul syndicate that raised her; she'd know them anywhere. She'd been part of them all the way up to her twenties, until she couldn't stand the guilt of treating people - people who looked and cried and loved just like _her_ \- like walking pieces of meat anymore. When she left, she'd done her best to cut all her ties, even going so far as to use a false identity.

"They're going to kill him!" she whimpers. "They're going to tear him apart...!"

"Leave, then," Tsunade says fiercely. "Take him and get out of this place."

"But Ao..." Mei murmurs, guilt crashing over her. The life he'd built for himself, his career and his friends, they're all here. But now, because of her...

Tsunade's hand is hot as a brand when it grips on her shoulder. "Don't think about that. Calm down, and we'll go check on him at the uni. I'll give Jiraiya a call, and we'll figure something out. Okay?"

Mei nods as she gets up on shaky legs. "I'll go get our emergency bag. We packed our documents and money in advance..."

"Good. Don't forget your sunglasses too."

Numbess washes over her when she shuts the bedroom door behind her again, her gaze landing on the scattered photos on the ground. "Oh god," she whispers, pressing her hand over her trembling mouth. "We're never coming back, are we?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Chapter 3 will be up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I said "soon" but uh... I guess that means a month :P

* * *

"Mizushima-sensei."

Ao pauses in his presentation, thumb frozen over the clicker in his hand. "Yes?" Ao asks, surprised. His students are usually so quiet. He has to take a moment to locate the owner of the voice, what with the projector doing its best to blind him. It's a young man slumped indolently near the back of the lecture theatre, hand raised slightly above his spiky shock of silver hair, as if he couldn't muster the energy to fully straighten his arm.

The young man smiles behind the white mask covering the lower half of his face and gives a casual wave. "I read your paper: _'Ghouls and the Right to Life'_. You defended the ghoul's right to life, and other rights such as the right against torture, on the basis of natural law. But do ghouls not go against natural law themselves because they consumer humans to survive?"

"Thank you for your question,...?"

"Hatake," the student offers, sitting forward and steepling his fingers.

"Hatake-san," Ao repeats, wondering if he is related to _the_ famous Hatake family. "Thank you for your question. I'm glad someone actually read my paper," he chuckles self-deprecatingly and the lecture theatre titters in amusement. He sets the clicker down and grips the edges of the lectern, his mind briefly flashing to Mei before coming back to the question. "Well, it depends on your conception of natural law. The belief that humans should not kill others is premised on the sanctity of life, and to some extent, equality between human beings. On the other hand, we do not extend the same considerations of sanctity of life and equality to animals, because they are necessary for our survival. We kill and eat animals because it is part of our nature.

"So what is natural law to ghouls? Leaving considerations of humanity and equality aside, it is clear that they cannot survive without consuming human flesh. So, are they not doing what is natural to them? If we do not put a lion on trial for tearing into a deer, or judge a wolf for hunting down a rabbit, then why do we not extend that logic to ghouls?" Ao smiles grimly. "What we are experiencing now is an instinctive desire to defend our own survival, not a logical response."

Turning back to the projector screen, he clicks back several slides to show the list of fundamental human rights and their corresponding articles. "Right now, we are using these rights as tools to justify what we do to survive against our predators. That's fine. But shouldn't there be something more? Tell me, why do you want to have a right against torture, Hatake-san?"

The young man shrugs. "It's inhumane. Degrading."

"Exactly," Ao replies. "As humans, we have an ability to experience emotions and physical pain. We can feel humiliation and despair. These rights were created to recognise and respect the fact that we are intelligent enough to have a concept of dignity. If we denounce ghouls for violating our right to life and causing us suffer, but do the same to them when we capture, imprison, experiment on and kill them, then we're all hypocrites. We should stop embarrassing ourselves by talking about these rights as if they're universal principles, and start acknowledging that we're equally complicit in this battle for survival."

The lecture theatre is silent. The young man who had asked the question folds his hands under his chin, his brow drawn. Ao takes a slow sip of water, well aware that he had just incited great controversy. His students would either love him or hate him, as does the faculty, but that is inevitable. He self-censors enough as it is.

Ao clears his throat. "I'd be happy to discuss further after class. Let's move on."

* * *

"Thanks for your impassioned response, Mizushima-sensei," says the Hatake when the lecture is concluded. He leans his hip against the lectern and gives Ao another eye-smile.

The older man closes his laptop with a scoff. "It was hardly impassioned. Questions, Hatake-san?"

"Not really." The silver-haired youth sticks out his hand instead. "I wanted to apologise for barging into your class without informing you first. I'm Hatake Kakashi, CCG Ghoul Investigator. My pleasure to meet you."

Ao shakes Kakashi's hand, forcing a smile onto his face. Now that he's up close, he can see the distinctive eyepatch half-hidden behind the investigator's messy silver hair. "You look much sterner in the newspaper, Investigator Hatake. Congratulations on your promotion to Associate Special Class."

Kakashi flaps his hand in a way that's entirely unbecoming. "Pfft. It's no big deal. Just more paperwork and more baby investigators to train."

"So," Ao asks cautiously, "has something happened in the uni? I can't imagine you'd have much time for academics..."

"On the contrary! My trainees are always asking difficult questions, so I needed an expert opinion for some guidance."

"I do hope I've been of some help," Ao replies, pleased despite himself. "Even though it's just theory." It's dangerous to attract attention from the CCG - Ao has no doubt a blacklist for pro-ghoul supporters exists - but it's a sweet thing to break out of the small circle that is academia. It can get boring sometimes.

"Of course. Say, sensei, let me treat you to lunch. I haven't paid school fees after all." With a wink that might just be a blink, Kakashi is escorting Ao out of the lecture theatre. "There's this rad new place nearby..."

"I can't possibly trouble you-"

"Nonsense," Kakashi insists, smiling. "It's no trouble at all."

"Very well," Ao concedes, now certain that this is an investigation in disguise. "Thank you." He palms the phone in his pocket, wondering whether it'd be too obvious if he messaged Mei. He doesn't mind seeming whipped, but who knows if the CCG is monitoring his messages right now? He hesitates, distracted by the Hatake's constant stream of small talk. If everything goes to hell, Mei should be able to deduce what had happened to him, right?

"You know, my father used to say the same thing about ghouls."

Ao discards his plans with a mental sigh. Mei will be alright. "About... their rights?"

"Not in those words," Kakashi says, his shoulders hunching a little as he stares across the carpark, his single grey eye slightly glazed. "But he always insisted that ghouls had humanity too. His work tortured him as much it rewarded him, but no-one would let him stop because he was so good at it."

Under the light of the blazing sun, Ao can see the ghost of the nation's most famous investigator clearly in Kakashi's somber features. "I'm sorry," Ao murmurs, and he truly is. Until this day, no-one really knows of why Hatake Sakumo had killed himself, but it is clear that what Kakashi had revealed had something to do with it.

The young Hatake peers up at him from under his fringe of messy silver hair, a deep sorrow hidden behind a mask of indifference. His shoulders twitch in a shrug and he looks away. "He made his choices. Ah, here we are."

Ao is just about to get in Kakashi's car - not a police car, thank goodness - when a battered old Suzuki pulls into the carpark at a startling speed. Ao frowns, ready to berate the driver in his head, when he realises that the driver looks suspiciously like Mei's alcohol chugging friend. And is that...?

"Ao!" Mei shouts, not even bothering to slam the door before running to him.

"Mei?" Ao stares at her in confusion, worry rising up at Mei's pale expression. "What's wrong?" He jogs forward to meet her, angling his body to shield her from Kakashi's inquisitive eyes. They can't break the act now...!

Mei clutches at him the moment they come close enough, her hands tight enough around his biceps to bruise. "Ao," she mumbles, looking him over from head to toe with wild eyes before exhaling in relief. "We've got to go. _Right now._ "

"But-"

Ao feels the moment she notices Kakashi, her entire body going stiff as a board against him. "Who's that?" she hisses, redoubling her efforts to drag him away. Ao digs in his heels, both literally and metaphorically, determined to prevent a scene.

"Mei, calm down," he pleads, but she just tugs at him harder, showing more strength than she should be. _"Mei!"_

"Hey, is everything okay?" Kakashi calls, striding leisurely towards them with his hands in his pockets.

"Yes," Ao replies, a little bit too quickly and with a sharper tone than he intended. He turns back to Mei, who's still glaring at Kakashi. "Mei, it's the middle of the workday," Ao pleads, grimacing as he resists the painful grip she has on his wrist. "Did something happen at home? Did you see a ghoul?"

Mei's eyes snap to him, momentarily startled by the mention of "ghoul".

"Hatake-san is a CCG officer, we can ask him for help," Ao adds, trying to his best to hint to her the danger they're in.

Kakashi gives a mock salute. "At your service, m'am."

"N-no," Mei stutters, her gaze flicking towards Kakashi. "No ghoul, sir. It's just that..."

"Her mother's critically ill," Tsunade cuts in saying, slamming the car door before rounding it to stand before them. "She only has a few hours left."

Ao stares at the blonde in shock. As far as he knows, Mei is an orphan. But Mei hides her mouth demurely behind her hand, her eyes squeezing shut in what seems like genuine grief. "Oh," Ao murmurs, closing the space between them embrace her tentatively. "Mei dear, I'm so sorry..."

"Let's go now," Mei pleads, her seaglass green eyes fixed on the ground and beginning to seem alarmingly damp.

"Alright," Ao murmurs, shocked by how emotional she's being. Regardless of the truth of that story about her mother, she wouldn't be like this if something terrible hadn't happened. He turns back to Kakashi, giving him an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, Hatake-san. I'll have to take a rain check."

"Of course," Kakashi says easily, taking out his phone and tapping without bothering to glance down at it. "Please don't worry about me."

Ao nods in thanks and lets Mei lead him to the car, the two of them clambering into the backseat and Tsunade into the driver's. The ghoul investigator smiles and raises his hand in farewell, his phone already pressed to his ear. "Mei," Ao murmurs, reaching for the door handle to tug it closed, "are you alri-?"

Something slams against the door with a loud bang. "Sir!"

Ao yelps in shock and turns, eyes flying wide when he comes face to face with the brown haired girl who had suddenly appeared and wrenched the door from his hand. "What-!"

"Get out!" Mei shouts, throwing an arm over Ao's chest. "How _dare_ you!"

The girl ignores her and draws a quinque from the belt of her CCG combat vest. "Sir," she barks, her determined eyes boring into his with alarming intensity. "Are you aware your wife is ghoul?"

Both Ao and Mei freeze. At the front, Tsunade curses softly.

"Rin," Kakashi says quietly, though Ao barely hears him through the blood rushing in his ears. "He knows."

"We've had cases where they've been lied to for years!" Rin shouts, not breaking eye contact with Ao. Her eyes are blazing golden, her boot jammed against the door and her quinque coming to life in her hand- a three-tailed bikaku. "Sir, _are you aware_?"

Ao's mouth opens but no sound comes out.

"Fuck this!" Tsunade yells, jamming her foot down on the accelerator. The car jerks into motion like bucking horse and both Ao and Mei scream, clutching at each other and scrabbling against the synthetic leather of the seat. They barely keep themselves from tumbling out of the open door.

In their panic, Ao catches a glimpse of the young investigator in the side mirror. Her petite form curls into a tuck-and-roll as her quinque pierces its tails into the ground, cushioning her fall. She springs up in an instant, the flex of her quinque propelling her, and dashes after them at a superhuman speed. Behind her, Kakashi has sprinted towards his car and thrown the door open.

"Watch your hands!" Tsunade shouts, swerving like a madwoman. The motion swings door shut in Ao's face, making him flinch back violently. Something heavy keeps him anchored in the seat as Tsunade works the gas pedal and brakes in rapid succession, bringing them out of the carpark and onto the road. With gritted teeth and a quick hand on the steering wheel, she pulls into the traffic amidst a cacophony of honks.

Looking down, Ao realises that it's one of Mei's rinkaku tentacles laying over his chest and wrapping around the headrest of his seat, as if to replace the seatbelt that he hadn't had the time to put on. Mei herself is braced over him protectively, her rinkaku tentacles pressed against the ceiling, front seat, and door. The sclera of her eyes are a stark black, fine red veins tracing from the rims of her eyes as she glares out of the rear windshield, teeth bared in a snarl.

Ao swallows around the lump in his throat. Cold sweat trickles down the dip of his spine as he lays a trembling hand over her kagune, feeling it throb against his chest. Several strands of her auburn hair have caught between his fingers, soft like silk and quite unlike the hard, interlocking scales of her predatory organ.

At his touch, Mei glances down. Her face is stricken with fear and regret. "I'm sorry, Ao. I'm so sorry."

"No, no. Don't be." He reaches for her hand and she entwines her fingers with his, the both of them clutching at each other as if the other were the last thing left in the world.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ao is "Mizushima-sensei" because he does not have a last name in canon. Mizushima basically means "water" + "island".

Also, disclaimer about Ao's "natural law" argument. I tried to make a good argument but ah... my understanding of "natural law" is probably full of mistakes.

Hopefully next chapter will also be "soon" :P


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Ahh, it's been a long time! Sorry for the long wait!

* * *

"So _both_ the CCG and your ghoul syndicate are after us?" Ao asks in disbelief. The backing of his phone comes off with a crack, exposing its electronic innards. He plucks the battery out and sets it onto the floor with the rest of the phone, now nothing more than a husk. "Damn," he whispers, his eyes flitting to the photos in Mei's lap again.

Mei nods, her lip caught between her teeth as she tucks the photos away. "I'm not sure what's going on either..." Reaching for her duffel bag, she unzips it and plucks out the pistol that she'd stowed away at the bottom. Ao accepts the contraband gingerly, closing his fingers over the matte black barrel before giving the safety a quick check. Looking pale and disturbed, he sets it on the floor together with the scattered components their dismantled phones, making sure to point its muzzle away from anyone in the car. "You replaced our old gun," he observes.

"Oh, you noticed," Tsunade says, sounding surprised. A road sign flits overhead, signalling their imminent exit from Tokyo.

Ao frowns. "Of course."

Mei bites her lip. "Jiraiya owed me a favour. I had him pass me a better one."

Frustration flickers to life in Ao's eyes briefly before it fades into resignation. "I see."

Mei understands. As much as she tries to include Ao in her small circle of ghoul friends, they tend to exclude him when anything more serious than small talk comes up. Any favours, deals, or gossip regarding the ghoul underground is only spoken of when Ao is not at home. At the very most they'd have a few whispers when he's in another room, but the topic would quickly be changed when he passes by. It might be lack of trust, or simply habit borne from a lifetime of persecution, but hurtful to her husband nonetheless. Mei shares as much as she can with Ao, but she also has to respect her friends' wishes.

"Where are we going?" he asks Tsunade as Mei zips the bag closed and sits back.

The blonde woman looks up into the rear view mirror. "One of Jiraiya's meeting points. He's sending someone to meet us."

"And then?" Ao presses, his fisted hands crumpling his slacks. "Where are we going to hide?"

Tsunade's honey-gold eyes flicker to Mei. "Konoha's out, Mei. Sarutobi-sensei's probably behind this. Even I can't protect you now. His fondness for me only goes so far."

Mei gapes. "Why would Sarutobi want to target us?"

"You're from Kiri. No, I know you left," her friend replies in exasperation. "But that's not what sensei thinks. And there are only so many ghouls who have achieved kakuja transformation. You're going to make an exceptional quinque." Her expression softens when Mei grimaces. "Sorry."

"So you think it's a turf war between Konoha and Kiri?"

"Wait, _wait!_ " Ao interrupts. "Are you talking about Sarutobi Hiruzen? The Head of the CCG?" He stares between them, looking so stunned that Mei and Tsunade exchange guilty glances.

"Brace yourself," Tsunade warns slightly facetiously, "this is going to be a life-changing revelation."

Ao gives her a withering look. "Just tell me."

Mei sighs. She had hoped to never speak of this. "The CCG is controlled by Konoha, the ghoul syndicate that Tsunade used to be part of."

The look of horror that dawns on Ao's face makes Mei's stomach twist. "You can't be serious." The silence that fills the car confirms everything. "Sarutobi," Ao says slowly. "Sarutobi fucking Hiruzen."

"That's my sensei!" Tsunade confirms with hollow cheer.

Ao sits there stiffly for a long moment, his gaze sliding to the endless road before them. Then, he starts laughing, a low, incredulous kind of laughter that makes the hairs on the nape of Mei's neck stand. He scrubs a hand over his face before letting it drop into his lap, limp. "We've been living a lie. _I've_ been living a lie." Pained at the anguish in his voice, Mei reaches for him, but he flinches back, unable to look at her. It's a small gesture, unconscious and barely there, but it sends a chill through Mei's chest.

Is this it? Is this going to be the end of them?

"Were Hatake and the other woman ghouls too? She seemed so..."

"No, they were human," Tsunade confirms. "No one knows the truth except a select few, and now you. You are not to speak of this to anyone."

"They're being lied to!" Ao shouts in a sudden explosion of volume that makes Mei flinch. "They're giving up their lives, thinking that they're fighting for humanity, while they're being controlled by the very enemy they're fighting!"

 _Enemy._ The word is like a knife in Mei's heart. She searches his face, trying to find something other than the hurt and anger that's suffusing his face.

"All this is to keep us complacent, isn't it?" Ao breathes, realisation dawning terrible on him. "All this persecution and cruelty towards ghouls and spending on quinque development. The real players have already won." He looks down at his hands. "We're all just fools squabbling amongst ourselves, picking over the scraps to stay alive." His nails dig into the palms of his hands; the look in his eyes one that Mei has never seen before.

"Ao..."

He finally looks at her. There's fear lurking in the dark depths of his eyes. "Where are we going to hide?" he asks, again.

"Your best bet is with a ghoul syndicate," Tsunade says quietly, her eyes on the highway.

"Are you saying that I should go back to Kiri?" Mei snarls. "They're threatening Ao!"

"None of the big five will accept a member of another syndicate, even if they've defected for years. None of the smaller gangs will risk their necks by going against a larger syndicate. You have to be practical, Mei."

" _I am_ ," Mei hisses. "Do you think Yagura is going to be anymore lenient than his predecessor?"

"Maybe if you swear loyalty."

"That's a big "if"," Mei retorts, throwing up her hands.

Tsunade scowls. "You can't be on the run forever. It's not like the old days anymore, where you can just move on to the next village and invent a new identity. I know you're worried about Ao, but you have to be practical."

"Can't Jiraiya do something?" Mei pleads. "I'll work for him. We'll disappear for a few years, then come back when the furore dies down. Won't that work?"

Tsunade looks apologetic. "We're on thin ice, babe. Sarutobi-sensei has been closing in on us too. Orochimaru's putting up a good fight, but he wants us back in the CCG." She glances over at her side mirror, switches lanes, and continues on with a sigh. The road rumbles beneath them, and her grip on the steering wheel is white-knuckled. "Mei... If he gets what he wants, I'll be Head of CCG. And I'll do it, Mei, if only to keep Danzou out of the seat. What I'm saying is... I'm as good as CCG personnel now. There's only so much I can do."

They fall once more into silence. _So this is how it is_ , Mei thinks sadly. Her shoulders droop. "Alright. Fine."

A wan smile flickers over her lips. "Sorry."

Mei sighs. "Ao—" she looks at him and is startled by the look of betrayal on his face.

"You should eat me now."

"What?" Mei pitch rises in incredulity and he expression shutters further, becoming a blank mask.

"You're going back to Kiri. "Don't play with your food", right?" His jaw clenches but he forges on. "Do it. Eat me now. Leave me some dignity and don't do it in front of them."

"I am _not_ eating you," Mei snaps, wanting to shake some sense into him. Tsunade glances between them warily. "If Kiri wants me to do that, we're getting out of there, do you understand? You staying alive is a non-negotiable. You're my _husband,_ for goodness sake!"

"But, you said—"

"We're going to Kiri in order to get the CCG - Konoha - off our backs, and only because of that."

"But if you don't eat me and Kiri doesn't let you stay—" His distressed gaze flickers to the window, as if he's trying to spot an escape route.

"Then we'll stay on the run until we find another solution. I'm not letting you die," Mei states firmly. She reaches out and grasps his hand, trying to convey all her love through her touch. "I can't live without you."

"Don't say such things!" he protests immediately, as he usually does when she says something fatalistic. Unable to help herself, Mei hugs him, burying her face in the crook of his neck to hide the tears gathering in her eyes. After a long pause, he relaxes and embraces her back tentatively, his chin coming to rest lightly on top of her head. "Mei, I..."

She squeezes him tighter, her heart breaking at the hesitation in his voice. "We'll be okay, Ao. I promise you."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Woooo an update!

* * *

Ao stares at the onigiri in the fridge, stomach rumbling. Without looking too closely, he picks out a few— salmon, pickled plum, shrimp with mayo... Some packaged milk joins his basket, together with some black coffee for Mei and Tsunade, even though Ao is sorely tempted to buy some sake to calm his nerves.

The cashier greets him politely as he puts them all on the counter and Ao nods stiffly back. The television behind her is playing the news on repeat, babbling on about the economy again. Ao watches half-heartedly, his mind on Mei, who is refilling the gas, and Tsunade, who busy calling Jiraiya.

"Sir, your purchases?"

Ao grimaces apologetically behind his mask as he counts out the cash and hands it to the cashier. "Thanks."

"Have a good day sir."

The television behind her flashes, the CCG symbol appearing, and Ao pauses. The cashier turns back to look at it too, just as his face appears together with Mei's. It's his profile picture from the university website, with him all dressed up in a nice suit and tie. His face is younger than he remembers, but his expression stern all the same, ready to strike fear into his students. They'd picked a real femme fatale sort of picture for Mei though, with her smirking candidly into the camera and her lipstick glistening red. Ao is certain that someone will eventually jump on the opportunity to crack a "maneater" joke.

"Rogue ghoul alert" flashes the scrolling banner below their pictures, as the newscaster explains that he has been charged with aiding a ghoul. "Please act cautiously," the newscaster advises before reading out the information hotline crisply, repeating it twice.

Ao turns and leaves, his heart pounding and his mouth dry. The gun holstered under his wrinkled suit jacket is a reassuring weight, but he can feel the cashier's eyes burning into his back. Shit. The door chime jingles cheerfully behind him as Ao finally escapes outside into the cold air, his exhale becoming a plume of mist.

"Mei," he croaks as he goes up to her. Tsunade is still in the driver's seat, gesticulating as she speaks. "We should leave, _now._ We're on the news."

Her emerald eyes widen and flicker quickly over his shoulder. "Oh no. Get in the car." She puts back the self-service gas pump but hesitates. "I have to go pay. It'll be more suspicious if I didn't."

"No, no," Ao immediately protests, already trying to get out of the car again. "I'll go."

"Stay put," Tsunade grunts, hanging up on her call. "Sensei won't put my face up on the news so I'm at less risk. I'll be back in a jiffy." She's off before either of them can protest, so Mei sighs and gets into the backseat beside Ao. He hands her the coffee silently, and leaves the rest of the food on the backseat, his stomach churning with too much anxiety to keep anything down.

"Hey," Mei murmurs, slipping an arm around his waist. "You need to keep up your strength." She presses a kiss against his cheek, her eyes soft.

"Yeah," he says, suddenly embarrassed at her concern. He's a grown man. He should be taking care of her, instead, not curling up like a frightened pill bug. He reaches for a random onigiri and tears the packaging, stuffing the riceball into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything stupid.

They'll be alright. Somehow.

* * *

Mei had apparently ordered something else from Jiraiya, so they take a detour down to one of the towns in order to meet up with several of his underlings. Apparently, these underlings live in a double-storied bungalow with an entire garden filled with roses.

" _This nightmare is becoming surreal,_ " Ao thinks. He'd expected a run-down warehouse or shady, abandoned alleys, like the places where he and Mei used to hunt ghouls, but this looks very homely.

They're welcomed in with a quick round of introductions. "Oh my," Yahiko says when Ao is introduced as Mei's husband. Ao tenses at his curious stare, expecting the orange-haired ghoul to make a comment about his edibility, but the young man just shouts for Konan and comments on their blue hair. Konan rolls her eyes, Nagato smiles at both of them, and Ao relaxes a little.

Jiraiya's underlings look like students barely out of high school, but once they lead Ao and the rest to the basement, it's clear that they're anything but.

"You wanted supplies too, right?" Konan asks, hauling out heavy backpacks out of a cupboard and tossing one each to Mei and Tsunade. "We put in some human food too, though most of it is for you since you can't buy your stuff in convenience stores."

"Thanks," Mei says, opening up the backpack to rummage through it. Tsunade looks through hers too. "It's pretty comprehensive."

Ao spots something dark red in a sealed plastic bag and turns away, keeping his eyes on the workbench dominating the room instead. The basement is like a cross between a mechanic's workshop and a laboratory, with all the chaos that accompanies both. There are various gadgets laid out on the table, all in various stages of assembly, together with numerous boxes of small metallic parts. Most of the gadgets look like they can be weaponised in an instant.

A bubbling set up of expensive looking machines and test tubes sits on another bench to the side, together with a series of scrawled instructions plastered on the wall. Beside it stands an intimidating industrial sized fridge, again covered with various instructions and schematics. The more Ao looks around, the more he finds: soldering equipment, a food processor (though he doubts it is used for food), a chainsaw, a sewing kit...

"Oh, and this."

Konan takes out something looks like the bladeless hilt of a katana and passes it to Mei, who accepts it carefully. "Jiraiya-sensei told us about your circumstances, so we made it a priority."

"Thank you," Mei says excitedly. "This looks great." She turns it in her hand, running her fingers over the woven grip and examining the switch at the side closely. Smiling, she hands it to Ao as the other ghouls watch on curiously. He takes it with a baffled look. It's unexpectedly heavy. "I had it made for you," Mei explains. "It's a quinque."

Ao gapes at it as Yahiko lets out a low whistle and nudges Nagato with his shoulder. "I... Thank you. But I don't know how to use it."

"We chose a simple design," Konan says, looking at Ao with new consideration in her eyes. "So it should not strain you too much physically. Mei should be able to teach you some of her moves."

"It's a rinkaku too?" Ao guesses, hefting the hilt in his hand to test its weight. He glances at Mei from the corner of his eye and gives her a lopsided smile. "Guess we'll match."

"It's my rinkaku, actually," Mei admits, clasping her hands tightly before her.

"Yours?!" Ao exclaims as he looks down at the quinque again, devastated. "But don't you have to extract kagune organs to make this?"

Shrugging, Mei tries to play it off. "It's just one. I have... several," she ends vaguely, probably not wanting to disclose her true strength in front of others. "It's all healed anyway."

"You shouldn't have," Ao whispers, still very much shaken.

"I wanted to," she insists, smiling reassuringly. "Guns aren't good enough."

"Oh, Mei..." he murmurs as he wraps his arms around her, hugging her tight.

She lifts her face and smooths her hand along the deep frown line along his brow. "Don't make that face. I'm _fine._ "

"Yeah, she's strong enough to spare a measly tentacle for you," Tsunade pipes up with a grin. "You're gonna need it."

"C'mon," Konan says. "Let's test that quinque out. Boys, go get Tsunade-san the documents that sensei wanted to pass her."

"Yes ma'am," Yahiko says sadly, eyeing the quinque as he swings an arm over Nagato's shoulders. "Take good care of that thing, Ao-san. It's a good one."

"I will," Ao promises. He looks at Mei again and sighs. "You always overdo things, don't you?"

She just beams at him. "I'm sure you'll look very handsome wielding this."

* * *

"So it's... like a whip?" Ao comments hesitantly as the full length of the rinkaku quinque spills from the hilt. It starts off no wider than the hilt, before thickening to a girth as wide as Ao's bicep, and then tapering off to a point. The long, crimson tentacle writhes on the cement floor of the soundproofed testing room and Ao holds it away from him. "Um," he says, stepping out of its way as it tries to curl around his ankle.

"Looks like it has retained a bit of my personality," Mei giggles.

"It seems to naturally enjoy grabbing things," Konan says, giving Mei an amused look. "Gave us a bit of trouble when we were trying to make it into something useable."

"Oops?" Mei smirks.

"Oh no," Ao gasps, hopping about trying to shake the quinque off his foot. "Not up my trousers you sneaky thing." Unable to help herself, Mei bursts out laughing, only to get an exasperated look from Ao. He tugs at the hilt and the tentacle reluctantly slides out of his trouser leg and goes writhing along the floor again.

"It must really like you," Mei says with a meaningful look under her lashes.

"Must be muscle memory," Ao mutters, blushing, and Mei hides another smirk behind her hand.

Konan chuckles briefly before she's all business again. "Try swinging it, Ao-san." She demonstrates the movement— it's more like swinging a racket than cracking a whip. "Don't use your wrist unless you want to break it. The quinque is too heavy. And don't worry about how long it is, it will extend to reach your target."

Ao gives the tentacle a little pat and concentrates, aiming for the corner of the room. Raising the quinque, he swings it in a quick movement. The quinque snaps forward as directed quite readily, hardening the end just before it smashes into the wall.

The cement cracks, and Ao staggers a little as the quinque's weight pulls him forward.

Mei lets out a low whistle. "Nice."

"Plant your feet," Konan advises. "You'll need your whole body to control this thing, especially if you plan to use more strength."

"Noted," Ao grunts, pulling back the quinque. It coils up more vigorously than he expected and ends up wrapped around his arm like an affectionate snake. Ao turns to Konan plaintively. "Is it going to do this every time?"

Konan shrugs. "At least you won't lose it? As long as it lets go of you when you need it, it doesn't matter."

Mei snickers again. "Poor Ao," she says, stepping forward to pet the tentacle. It pulses a shimmering red. "Looks like it wants to protect you."

"My back is aching," Ao chuckles. "It's pretty heavy."

"Now you know," Mei jokes.

* * *

With the quinque retracted and tucked into his belt, and the backpack in his hand, Ao and Mei are ready to go.

"We'll have to part ways here," Tsunade says softly, giving Mei a big hug, then Ao as well. The rose bushes rustle in the night breeze, their thick foliage blocking them from the rest of the neighbourhood's view. "Jiraiya will pick me up later. In all likelihood, we won't see each other again. So take care, both of you. Mei needs you more than you think, Ao."

Ao smiles wryly. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better," Tsunade chuckles, her smile not reaching her eyes. She turns to Mei. "Do you know where Kiri is nowadays?"

Mei nods solemnly. "I have some idea."

"Good. Don't try to pay me back for the car, alright? No silly ideas. We're going radio silent."

"I know, I know," Mei sighs, stepping forward to hug Tsunade again. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem. What are friends for?" Tsunade says gruffly, patting Mei's back. "Now go."

Ao nods in thanks as they slip out of the wrought iron gates, pausing for a while to let Mei wave before heading over to the car. They're on their own now; but at least, they're together.


	6. Chapter 6

"There's another one," Ao says, squinting out of his window. "On the wall right beside that store."

Mei slows the car down to take a look as well. It's dark and difficult to see much, but the four stylised waves spray painted on the wall are obvious when you know what to look for. They're officially in Kiri territory now. "Let's stop here," Mei suggests, pulling up their car to the nearest parking spot along the road. "There's a hotel right down there. We can stay there a night, or until they come and find us."

Nodding, Ao unbuckles his seatbelt. "I'll go grab the bags."

"Sure."

The small town that they've ended up in is rather remote, but Mei is familiar with it. She'd grown up in this area, after all. Kiri changes the location of its base every few years or so after the local human population dwindles, but they always operate within the same prefecture.

Even the air tastes the same— fresh and cold, with the faint taste of the sea. Mei is faintly nostalgic despite herself. She'd had friends here, once, despite all the horrors that she'd witnessed. She still remembers the feeling of sand between her toes and the dried flowers on her mother's window sill, the memories bright and blurry behind the veil of time.

"Mei?" She accepts the bag that Ao passes to her and wraps her other hand around his arm, holding it close to her as she smiles reassuringly up at him. He smiles back faintly, the creases at the corner of his eyes deepening. "Let's go."

* * *

The hotel room that the receptionist gives to them is small and cozy, its western-styled bed made neatly with a deep blue bed cover and piled with fluffy pillows. Their false identities had worked, though the receptionist had stared at them a little too long. Ao had been clearly uncomfortable as they taken the lift up to their room, his expression solemn as if he was about to walk to his execution.

Mei sighs and turns over beneath the covers. She listens to the sounds of the shower running, wondering how she should move. They have to wait for Kiri to find them, since Mei has no idea where their base is located now, so this makes any sort of stakeout impossible. But once they've found them, there was no way that they'd let Ao walk in all outfitted with guns. It would be difficult to disguise the quinque too. Maybe she should hold onto it and hope that they'll be too afraid to search her.

Fat chance. She's the one begging for their protection, here. Letting Ao live will already be a big favour.

Mei buries her face into the pillow. She's glad that Ao hasn't asked her about her plans, because she honestly doesn't have much of one. Maybe that's a bad sign. Maybe he really thinks he's going to die. But Mei really doesn't have anything reassuring to say.

She hopes Kisame is still around— he's an honourable man, Mei can trust him. He's strong too, and in these intervening years, Mei imagines that the shark-like ghoul would have only grown stronger. Her long-time rival Zabuza comes to the forefront of her mind too, his familiar sneer making her heart clench strangely. The three of them had had good times.

She hopes that they'll accept Ao. " _Who was the one who had stalked him?_ " she wonders with a frown. She'd pay them back with pain if she can, but she feels like a whipped dog who had run away, only to come back with her tail tucked between her legs. At least the previous head of Kiri is dead. Mei can only hope for a fresh start.

The shower stops running and a moment later, the door of the bathroom opens. Mei peeks from her pillow and finds him staring at her in bemusement, a towel slung around his hips and another on his head. "Why are you sleeping that way?"

"Just thinking," Mei says, smiling.

"Uh-huh," he replies, and goes back to drying his hair. She watches him with half-lidded eyes, savouring the sight of him whole and healthy. There's a long, pink scar across his back from the night she'd first met him, when he'd almost fallen prey to another ghoul. So fragile, humans. She would have weathered that blow without a problem, healing within moments, but he still bears that scar after so many years.

She's so very afraid for him.

"Stop thinking, Mei," Ao murmurs, coming over to her to kiss her cheek. "It's time to sleep."

She rolls over to keep him within sight as he rounds the bed and sits down on the other side. "It's still early," Mei pouts. Ao switches off the lights. "Hey!"

"It's not like we have a TV to watch," he says, amused. She sees the outline of him in the dark as he throws the towels onto the chair opposite the room. "Close your eyes," he says, as he crawls under the covers.

She shuffles close to him, plastering herself against his bare back. "You old man," she grumbles, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"Watch it," he shoots back jokingly.

She slips a hand along his waist, and then down—

"Mei," he whispers, catching her wrist.

"No?" she whispers back.

He's quiet for a long moment before turning around and capturing Mei's lips with a soft kiss. Mei moans softly and returns it, slanting her mouth over his to taste him better. She closes her eyes when she feels the familiar throb of her kakugan beginning to show.

He pulls back, breathing heavily. "Don't hide it. I want to see."

Mei lets her eyes flutter open. With her ghoul nature coming to the forefront like this, she can see every little expression on Ao's face. He reaches out and cups her jaw, his thumb tracing along her cheek gently. "Aren't you afraid?" she asks. His sweet taste is still in her mouth, tempting her.

His lopsided smile is her favourite thing in the entire world. "Of my own wife? Of course. Most married man are."

Mei grins at that. "You dummy."

He kisses her again, pulling her to lay over him, and Mei can't think of anywhere else she'd rather be than in his arms.

* * *

They wake up to a series of polite knocks on their door. Mei and Ao are both awake in an instant, throwing back the bedcovers and leaping out of the bed. Mei's rinkaku spring from her lower back and Ao dodges around them, a gun in his hand as he runs for their bags.

"Knock knock," calls a familiar voice. It's Kisame!

"Wait! Let us get dressed!" Mei shouts, catching the clean pair of underwear and bra that Ao tosses her.

"They're gonna run away," mutters another voice, one that Mei recognises right away too.

"Their scents are here. It's fine," Kisame chuckles, and Zabuza grumbles some more.

Ao and Mei both glare at the door as they put their clothes on. "Keep the gun by your side," Mei tells Ao, retracting her rinkaku until they are hidden but ready behind her back. Ao nods, a fierce scowl on his face.

Mei moves forward cautiously and unlocks the door.

"Nice to see you again, Mei," Kisame's grinning face greets them, his sharpened teeth glinting. "You're looking good."

"And you even brought something for the potluck," Zabuza drawls, leaning against the door with his hands in his pockets. He gives the air a sniff and makes a face. "Stinks of you though."

Ao gives his most polite yet clearly insulted smile and Mei snarls. "Watch your mouth. Ao, the big one's Kisame and the rude one's Zabuza. Kisame, Zabuza, this is my husband Ao."

A look of disgust crosses Zabuza's face. "What the _fuck,_ Mei..." She glares at him defiantly.

"Perhaps we should talk inside," Kisame quickly says, throwing his arm over Zabuza's shoulders and dragging him in.

Zabuza throws off his arm once the door clicks shut behind them, scowling as he takes in their room. His gaze lingers on the mussed sheets and Mei shifts, blocking his view with her body. "So, what do you two want?"

Kisame shrugs. "We heard that you're around and came to visit. We really haven't seen each other for so long."

"Is that why you all have been stalking Ao?" Mei demands. She'd wanted to talk this out politely, but Zabuza's words had set her off.

"You're a ghoul, Mei," Kisame says, his smile falling from his face. "What are you doing, playing at being a human and getting married? You know it won't last."

Mei knows. Her marriage with Ao has been a ticking time bomb from the very beginning, but she'd hoped that they'd have at least a few more years of peace before everything fell to pieces. She feels Ao shift nervously behind her.

"It's time to come back to us. Kiri needs you now, more than ever."

"Did Yagura say that?" Mei says quietly, letting her kagune fade away. Zabuza and Kisame share a glance.

"No," Zabuza grunts. "That was all us. We need you to help us overthrow Yagura."

" _What?_ " Mei screeches.

Kisame holds his hands up. "Now, now. If you see how Yagura has been running things, you'd agree too. Especially," his eyes flicker to Ao, "since you love humans so much. Yagura's policies haven't been good for the population. Kiri's going to get hit by a CCG crackdown at this rate."

Mei exhales heavily. "Seriously? So he's just like the last head?"

"Yeah. You know how I feel about that," Kisame says, a pained smile on his face. "I won't lie to you, Mei."

He wouldn't. They'd always been honest with each other, even when they'd only had nasty words for each other. Mei doesn't fully trust them yet, but... this could work.

Mei squints at them again. "And why couldn't you have written me like a normal person instead of threatening Ao?"

Zabuza shrugs. "You'd have ignored us for sure. Kisame didn't want to do it that way, but we needed to know if the old Mei is still there. If he's dragging you down, you're no use. That's the cold hard truth."

Harsh. "Him being alive is a non-negotiable," Mei growls. "I love him. If you want me, he's coming along too."

There's a tense silence. Kisame sighs, nudging Zabuza. The latter makes a sound of disgust, giving Ao the stink eye. "Bring him along then," Kisame says. "He won't be the first human that a ghoul has kept around for fun, but you're going to have to hold your temper." He smiles at Ao. "They'll definitely try to take a bite or two out of him."

Mei turns and takes Ao's hand, careful to keep the other ghouls within her field of vision. This is actually better than she'd hoped. If Kisame and Zabuza are at her back, they are already much safer. "Ao, bear with me?"

He squeezes her hand back, still looking amazingly calm and composed even though he's surrounded by ghouls, if a little pale. "Don't worry about me. We've talked about this, remember?"

"So we have," Mei sighs. She turns to her friends and nods. "Protect us from the CCG and I'll help you out."

"Good," Kisame rumbles, grinning toothily. Zabuza just scowls.


	7. Chapter 7

"Someone else will come and collect your car later," Kisame says as they all pile into a beaten up Toyota. Zabuza starts the car and drums his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, his eyes flickering left and right as people in office wear begin trickling onto the streets. "Let's head off before it gets crowded."

Mei clips her seatbelt on just as Zabuza slams his foot down on the gas and it snaps taut, nearly choking her. Ao gasps, clinging onto his own jammed seatbelt as well. "Watch it!" Mei yells. "Zabz, your driving is still shit!"

"Shut up, you harpy!" he yells back, scattering pedestrians as he speeds down the road.

Ao smiles awkwardly as Kisame meets his eyes in the mirror and grins. "Ignore them," Kisame advises. "There are earplugs back at the house."

"Where are we going?" Mei asks, still huffy, and Zabuza rattles off an address that Ao has absolutely no impression of. "Wow, you guys really fucked off to the corner of the town."

"Yeah, yeah. At least you can get some fresh air out there."

Ao glances at Mei, wondering whether she'd always spoken that roughly. Then again, she'd sworn at him aplenty when he'd first tried to woo her. Ao smiles a little at the memory as he turns to the blurring scenery outside. If he's going to die, at least he'll be able to take those moments together with him.

* * *

"Take a good hold of him," Zabuza grumbles as he locks the car. "Livestock aren't allowed to run around unsupervised here."

Mei glares at her old friend but takes Ao's hand and interlaces her fingers tightly with his. Ao tries to calm his pounding heart as he's tugged along, but he isn't sure it's working. He tries to focus on the sprawling fields instead, resting his eyes on the green stalks of rice swaying in the cold breeze. There are houses along the edges of the neatly divided plots, all of them traditional-styled houses built with brick and cement, but the population looks sparse. Ao counts the broad-brimmed hats of the workers in the field. Are they all ghouls? Or are they humans?

"Where's Yagura?" Mei asks, shielding her face from the glare of the setting sun. Stray strands of her hair cling to his arm, shining like threads of gold in the sunlight. "And have you all switched to planting rice, now?"

"One question at once," Kisame chuckles, tucking his hands in his pockets. "We'll be going to meet Yagura-sama first. He lives on the first property. He drives out to the town centre a lot so he took the one nearest to the road."

Ao squints at the nearest house. It is rather fancy, with its shiny new metal gate and black car parked inside. As expected of a ghoul syndicate head.

"As for what we do now..." Ao stares at Kisame's broad back, unease rising up in him as he contemplates all kinds of grisly possibilities, but Kisame turns back and smiles. "It's the usual."

Mei glances back at the workers. "But what about them...?"

"They're our cover."

Frustrated at the cryptic talk, Ao turns to look at the people in the fields again. One of the quickly ducks their head, clearly having been caught staring. ' _If they're "cover",_ ' Ao reasons, _'then they must be human. What a strange relationship they must have with the ghoul syndicate. Are they sheltering ghouls in return for protection?'_

Mei squeezes his hand. She's looking straight ahead at Yagura's house, her face grim. They walk on.

* * *

The big boss of the famous Kiri ghoul syndicate looks like... a child. The two rows of ghouls lined up on either side of him tower over them as Ao and Mei kneel before him.

"That impertinent look on his face!" Yagura shouts, his eyes bleeding black as his three-tailed kagune slams onto the tatami. His tone turns mocking as his crazed eyes meet Ao's. " _'Ahhh, he's a child.'_ Is that what you're thinking? Is it?"

Ao flinches and quickly lowers his head further to the ground, but Zabuza hauls him up by the collar of his shirt and slaps him hard across the face. Mei is screeching when Ao is dropped back onto his knees, her kagune curled around him protectively, but Ao's ear is ringing too much to hear her. "How dare you! He's mine!"

They snarl at each other like animals, their kagunes coiling and clashing over his head. Ao doesn't dare to do anything but make himself small as Mei strains against Zabuza's strength.

 _"Act like a tamed pet and you'll be fine,"_ Kisame had advised. _"Kiri ghouls don't think too much of humans."_ Ao had been indignant then but now he understands. He can't do anything but shamefully cower.

"Sit. Down," Yagura commands, sounding much calmer despite the chaos that had erupted. Zabuza immediately backs down and Mei reluctantly in suit. "Mei, how dare you come here after neglecting your duties all these years."

"I'm sorry, Yagura-sama. But I couldn't stay after my father was killed."

Ao stares at the tatami beneath his hands as he listens carefully. Mei had told him what happened before. There was a fight for power between the ghouls, with her father being one of those who wanted to depose the previous head, but it had all gone wrong. Mei had become disgusted by the ghouls' constant hunger by then—hunger for flesh, for blood, for power... so she left.

"I can understand that. You were young, then. Still weak." Yagura sighs, but it is an amused sound. "I've heard things about you. Living amongst humans for so many years and under the CCG's eye to boot— you're a cunning one. Now that your cover is blown, you come to me. What do you want? To live? To eat? Or something else?"

Mei hesitates for a split second before lifting her chin. "I want my own territory."

The tension in the room ratchets up and Ao stops breathing. Yagura's kagune tails slide over the tatami mat like huge pythons, his scaled kagune rasping against the worn flooring as it moves. Then, he laughs. "Fine. At least you're honest. You can have your territory here if you fight for it. But," his voice drops, "if you want my seat, then be prepared to suffer a worse fate than your father."

"Of course," Mei murmurs, placing her hands before her neatly and bowing. Ao follows her lead and bows as well.

Yagura retracts his kagune. "Kisame, I assume she'll be staying with you and the others?"

"Yes boss, we have a spare room."

"And the human?"

"We can put him in the warehouse with the others," Zabuza suggests, but Mei cuts in.

"No, he can stay with me. We're used to it."

Ao can feel Yagura's eyes on him. It's a predator's gaze and even with Mei's assuring presence beside him, Ao can feel his blood pulse through his veins and his muscles tense. Fight or flight; that's the instinct.

"He seems well trained. That's fine. Don't let him roam about if you don't want him to get eaten."

 _'So shameful,'_ Ao thinks again as Mei thanks Yagura and the ghoul leaves.

* * *

"I'm going to kill you for that," Mei growls at Zabuza hunched back. She has been clinging onto Ao's arm protectively ever since they'd left Yagura's house. "Look at what you did to his handsome face." Ao flushes as Mei gently strokes along his bruised cheek with a hand, her lips forming a pout as she looks up at him in guilt and concern. Luckily, Kisame is too engrossed in his comically small phone screen be watching them.

"...it's no good when Yagura's in a rage like that," Zabuza grumbles as he searches his pockets for the keys to the front gate of their house. "Had to calm him down."

"I'm fine," Ao says, smiling for Mei's benefit. "I'll just have to have a better poker face next time." He shifts the weight of the backpack on his shoulders to ease the ache in his back. A lingering sense of fear still makes his insides tight, but he feels much lighter now that the worst is over.

"Oi, Kisame. Do you have the keys? I think forgot them," Zabuza grumbles.

Kisame sighs and puts away his phone. "Chojuro! Are you in?" he shouts.

There's a beat of silence before something crashes inside the house. "A-Ah yes! Coming!" A small blue-haired teen comes running through the front door, almost tripping over his own feet as he tries to put on his slippers. His eyes widen when he spots Ao and Mei. "I didn't realise we have guests," he mumbles as he tries to unlock the gate. "Please excuse the mess..."

"They're going to stay with us from now on," Kisame explains as he waves them in.

"Huh?!" Chojuro exclaims, his mouth dropping open as he hurries after them. "But! Will that be alright?" Mei squints at the boy and he takes a step back nervously. "I mean! Uh! A human..."

Ao scowls. What does that mean?

"He'll be fine," Zabuza grumbles, kicking off his shoes and slinging an arm around Chojuro's shoulders. He tugs the boy along into the house. "But my nose on the other hand..." He looks back over his shoulder at Ao with a grimace. "To put it in terms you can understand, it's like having a delicious roast chicken on the table twenty-four seven but not being able to eat it. Ugh."

"So I'm delicious now, huh," Ao says wryly. "I thought you said I stank?"

"You stank of Mei. Your own scent..." Zabuza bares his teeth and Ao swallows.

"Boys, stop flirting," Kisame groans.

Ao flushes and pinches Mei when she snorts. Zabuza disappears further into the house with a rude sign at Kisame, dragging Chojuro along with him. "Looks like I'll have to roll around with you a bit more," Mei whispers into Ao's ear, "to keep hungry ghouls away." Ao shushes her, feeling his face burn.

"I'll show you around," Kisame says, looking very much put upon. "This is the living room and the kitchen. The fridge's there, the trash bin is near the sink, and the coffee's in the cabinet. Mei, you can go buy human food for him in the village, but otherwise everything here is for us ghouls." He leads them the way Zabuza had gone, pointing out rooms on each side of the hallway. "Zabz's room, Chou's room, my room, and at the very back, your room. You'll be sharing a bathroom with me." They go through the backdoor and emerge on the other side. "And lastly, the garden."

Ao walks up to the edge of the veranda and eyes the patch of land critically. _'What kind of garden is this?!'_ It's growing well, but unfortunately, all of the plants are weeds. The same thoughts must be going through his wife's head because Mei is also making the same skeptical expression as she plants her hands on her hips. "At least we have a good view of it from our room?" Ao says, already making plans. "Since I don't have anything to do... I can work on it."

Mei smiles up at him, seeming relieved. "That sounds good," she says, looping her arm through his again. "You always need a project, don't you?"

"You'll find it hard work for sure," Kisame says with a lows whistle. "I don't think anyone has touched it since we moved in."

"I'll see what I can do."

Kisame leads them back into the house and leaves them at their room, telling them to settle down while he gets them some spare household supplies. Ao steps in and sets down their backpacks, rolling his shoulders in relief. The room is completely empty save for the futons piled in the corner and the cabinet at the side. A single window looks out to the overgrown garden, and a door beside the futons leads to the shared bathroom. It's an old house, with creaking floorboards underneath worn tatami, but it is not too shabby.

"Well this isn't as bad as I thought—" Ao chuckles, turning back to Mei. He pauses when he finds her leaning against the door, smiling tearily at him. "What's wrong?"

She dabs at her eyes with the back of her hand and Ao's heart squeezes. "Sorry dear."

Ao steps forward and wraps his arms around her, burying his nose against her hair. The flowery scent of the hotel's shampoo still clings to her faintly. "What are you talking about? I'm fine. I'm alive. We even have a garden now."

Mei makes a small, choked sound and hugs him back tight enough to make his ribs creak. "I didn't know you liked gardening."

"Well, I never had the chance to try," Ao says, trying to make light of the situation. He's living amongst ghouls now, but he's determined to make this work.


	8. Chapter 8

Zabuza is waiting outside for her, a smoke in hand, when Mei ventures into the cold morning. She'd wanted to see the village and Ao is busy setting up the new phones that Kisame had given them. Coming up to her old friend, Mei tilts back her head to look at him with a faint smile. "When did you start smoking?"

"Probably around the time you started eyeing his dick—"

Mei activates her kagune without a word and swings it straight for him, burying it a foot deep into the ground where he'd stood a split second earlier. Hissing, Zabuza massages his calf where Mei had clipped him with her kagune. His cigarette had fallen onto the dirt and Mei smashes that as well.

"That was my last one," Zabuza grumbles.

"Keep your mouth shut next time, then. I still haven't gotten you back for what you'd done earlier." Mei retracts her kagune and turns on her heel. She should have known that he'd be insufferable.

"Hey, wait."

Mei slams the gate behind her and sets off down the path, fuming.

"Mei!"

The heavy weight of his hand clamps down on her shoulder and she slaps him off her. "Get your hands off me!"

He raises his arms in surrender, a bitter twist to his lips. "Fine, fine." The way he averts his eyes and shoves his hands into his pockets reminds Mei of the sullen boy of her childhood. He really hasn't grown up, has he? At least, not when it comes to her.

It's enough to make the hard knot of frustration in her chest ease a little. "It's not the same anymore, Zabz. We're different people now."

"You mean you're different."

And there's that kicked puppy look that he always denies making. "Yeah. I am."

He snarls. "I don't get it, Mei. Why him? What's so special about him?"

The question catches her off guard. She'd have thought it was obvious. How many humans would love a ghoul? But Zabuza knows that. He's not just jealous, she realises. He's hurt. Maybe he'd been waiting for her all these years and now she's beyond his reach.

"I'm sorry, Zabz," she says, gentling her tone. "Me and Ao make each other happy. I won't give that up."

A flurry of emotions passes over his face: anger, denial, resignation. "That's cliched as hell," he mutters.

She shrugs, smiling faintly. "It doesn't have to be something grand to be good."

He drags a hand through his spiky hair. "You're so fucking soft."

"When it comes to some things, maybe. But I won't ever forgive you if you do anything to him."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighs, shoulders slumping. He stares at the patchy, trodden grass on the path and grimaces. "Fuck I want a cigarette."

"Go buy one then."

He scuffs his shoe against the dirt. "Nah. We got things to do." Mei raises an eyebrow. "Kisame gave the couple tour; now it's my turn to give the ghoul-only portion of the tour."

* * *

"You'd wanted to put him here?!" Mei hisses in her harshest whisper as she stands in the entrance of Warehouse 1.

Zabuza winces. "Hey, I'm sorry. It didn't happen though."

Mei grits her teeth and forces herself to follow Zabuza as he leads her further in. This is atrocious. The warehouse is filled with four rows of cages, each unit small enough that the men and women in them wouldn't be able to stand upright. A deep gutter passes through the cages to carry away waste, but despite the gurgling stream of water from a nearby river that trickles through it, there is lingering, earthy sort of stink. Mei grimaces.

Behind the thick metal bars and heavy locks securing their cages, the humans look about as dead-eyed as Mei would expect. "Yagura has turned this into a business, hasn't he?"

"Yeah." Even Zabuza looks uncomfortable. "This is the largest warehouse. There are several others. We either grab them off the street or they sell themselves to us in return for money. Lots of debtors here. Then we sell to ghouls all over the country, including a few gourmet restaurants. There's lots of money in this... so Yagura isn't without his supporters."

Mei feels sick as she stops before a cage that's emptier than the others. The child's small body barely takes up the cage as she lies still on the cage floor, curled up against the bucket of water that's for drinking and washing. "That one's a special order," Zabuza mutters as he consults the note taped onto the top of the cage. "We don't usually have ones as young as her."

Swearing softly under her breath, Mei has to look away. "Is this what I'll be helping with? Kidnapping and deliveries?"

Zabuza is quiet for a moment as he stares at the unmoving child. "They don't stay here long," he says as he slouches away. "In a few weeks at most, they'll be dead." Beckoning her outside, he lets them into one of the adjoining storage rooms. "Hey," he greets the ghoul there, a tall, stick-like man who's sweating as he stirs an industrial sized pot of mashed potato and beans. "That's Kushimaru," he tells Mei. "In charge of feeding them today, are you?"

"Yeah, they're always so hungry. Like little chicks—three times a day." Mei tries to smile when Kushimaru grins at her but her stomach is tight and roiling. "You must be?" he asks, reaching out.

"Mei," she replies, giving his hand a firm shake. "I'm staying with Zabz and the others."

"Ahhh. Kisame makes a mean steak."

"I'll show her around," Zabuza says gruffly, herding Mei towards one of the metal shelves at the back and pointing to the containers stacked on them. "Drugs," he says under his breath. "We lace their meals with these. Keeps them subdued."

"Some of them are just vitamins!" Kushimaru calls. "Need them nice and fat!"

"Let's go," Mei whispers, and Zabuza nods. Kushimaru waves at the as they hurry out and Mei waves back, a strained smile on her face that quickly disappears when she's outside. "Ugh." Mei sits down on her haunches by the roadside and buries her head against her knees. This is cold-blooded, even for Kiri. In the past, they'd terrorised villages within their territory, snatching people up in the middle of the night, but...

This is cruelly systematic. And, she has to admit, she is terrified that Ao could easily end up in one of those cages.

"So, what's the plan?" Mei asks as she stands, meeting Zabuza's eyes with her own determined gaze. They'd brought her here to help turn this place around, hadn't they?

Zabuza jerks his chin back towards the house. "We'll talk inside."

* * *

Ao is eating his rations and sharing a pot of coffee with Kisame and Chojuro when they return, so Mei shakes her head at Zabuza. _'Later.'_ Chojuro still looks half asleep, but Kisame and Ao have each taken part of the newspaper and started reading. "You're back," Ao says when he notices her. Mei smiles at the strange picture of domesticity that they make. "I've transferred all your contacts already," he explains as he passes her her new phone. "And set up your new number."

"Thanks dear."

Ao frowns. "Are you alright? You're looking a bit pale."

Flustered, Mei touches her hand to her face. "I do? Ah, I should probably get my blush..."

"As long as you're feeling well," Ao says, shaking his head. "I'll get you some coffee."

"Thanks..." With a warm mug in hand and the rich aroma of coffee washing away the smells of the warehouse, Mei feels a lot better. "So, what are we doing today?"

"I'm going to meet with one of our suppliers," Zabuza says as he pours a cup of coffee for himself too. Mei regrets asking when Ao looks at him quizzically. "Since Mei is here with us, I assume Yagura wants her to help us out."

Kisame shrugs. "I'm meeting with the property agent." He grins at Ao and explains. "Backup investments in case we need to move bases. Mei, I think you'd want to go with Zabuza. His is more interesting."

Mei would rather not meet one of these "suppliers" if their goods are humans, but she agrees, smiling in order to not alarm Ao. By the way Ao's squinting at them all, it's not working.

"Better if you don't know," Zabuza says bluntly.

"I'll be in my room then," Ao sighs.

* * *

"The thing is," Zabuza says as they speed down the highway with sunglasses perched on their faces and guns hidden in the car's backseat, "we need to figure out a way to survive without all this murder, kidnapping, trafficking, extortion, whatever. Killing Yagura is just brute strength and between the three of us I think we have a chance, but if all the Kiri ghouls go wild after his death, it'll be a disaster. We need something to keep them in line. There's no point removing Yagura if things are just going to get worse for both ghouls and humans everywhere."

Mei imagines the city descending into a bloody free-for-all and shudders. "Yes. We will need to come up with some way to take over the syndicate. How many ghouls are already on our side?"

Zabuza taps his fingers along the steering wheel, his eyes squinting even further. "We have about half who don't like doing this whole trafficking business. Mostly those who are afraid of getting caught by the CCG or those who've had friendly interactions with humans before. Then we have about another quarter who's alright with anything that feeds them. And then the rest... well they're either idiots or profit-hungry Yagura supporters. Most days I think they're both."

"That's better than I'd expected, honestly," Mei says. The highway splits off into a slip road and they follow along it, curving left towards the city. Pulling down the sun visor, she snaps open the mirror and adjusts her tightly coiffed hair under her sunhat. "In the worst case scenario, we'll go back to hunting humans like we used to. Like how ghouls in other cities do it."

"But do you have a best case scenario?" Zabuza groans. "Kisame and I have the fight all planned out, but we don't know what to do after that. C'mon Mei. You're the brains. I'm sure with Ao in the picture, you've thought about peaceful co-existence before."

Mei purses her lips. Trying to come up with ways to co-exist isn't a foreign concept. Ao used to discuss his ideas with her when he was working on his papers. Mei had always thought that they were workable. _Theoretically._ The problem is that neither side believes the other is reasonable enough to compromise, especially with CCG's hard stance against ghouls. If you proposed these ideas, you are either branded pro-ghoul or suspected to be a ghoul yourself.

But if she had an entire ghoul syndicate behind her back...?

"Listen," Mei says. "Ao and I talked about something like this before. When do humans care most about not being eaten?"

"…all the time?"

"No, when they're healthy and alive. But, if they're dead and dying, they care much less right? What if we promised to protect them from other ghouls and promised to not eat them _in return_ for the willing donation of their bodies once they're dead or dying? It'll be like a protection fee, or insurance."

"But we're going to starve while we wait for them to die," Zabuza retorts.

"That's why," Mei says, excited now, "we have to take over the city! Once we do this on a large enough scale, there's bound to be enough dead and dying people right?"

"So you're going to raid the hospital? Whoa, I don't want to get sick."

"There are plenty of people dying from non-transmissible diseases. Like old people dropping from heart attacks."

"What about the taste?" He makes a face.

" _Zabuza_."

The other ghoul groans. "Okay, _how_ are we going to take over the city?"

"We'll threaten the mayor."

"Are you sure Ao said all this?" Zabuza exclaims, his eyes darting towards her briefly before fixing back on the road. Under his breath, he mutters, "He seemed like such a straight-laced guy."

"I might be expanding on his ideas a bit," Mei admits. "The protection fee was his concept though."

"Ugh, okay. Tell me more. We'll need to actually explain this to Kisame coherently when we get back."

* * *

 **A/N:** RIP Zabuza and Mei's stupid disguises XD let's assume facial recognition isn't a thing in this AU. And we'll see Haku next chapter, don't worry! XD


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** It has really been a while since I last updated this. Haku is here! :)

* * *

"I found the shovel!" Ao shouts as he picks up the tool. It had been leaning against the side of the house, near the front gate and away from all the other disused gardening tools Ao had collected from the storage room. "Chojuro, I found—"

"Wait!" comes Chojuro's faint yell from inside the house. "Wait, wait, don't touch that one!"

"Huh?" Ao looks at it. "What's wrong with it?" There is a bit of black-coloured dirt caked on the blaade but otherwise it looks none the worse for wear.

Chojuro's flip-flops slap on the veranda as he runs up to him, panting. "Um, I'll get you another one from the village. Just... just don't use that one."

Ao hefts it with a frown. "Why? Do you bury bodies with this?" he jokes. Chojuro blanches and Ao's smile drops off his face. "Ah."

"I'm really sorry!" Chojuro squeaks.

"What for?" Ao replies gruffly, setting the shovel's blade against the ground. "It's fine. You're a ghoul. You need to eat. Burying their remains is better than dumping them in the trash."

"W-Wow. You're really not disgusted?"

"Like I said. You're just taking care of their remains." Ao looks at the shovel and sighs. "So can I borrow this for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure… If you want to…"

"I'll just give it a wash," Ao mutters under his breath.

The gate creaks and Ao looks up sharply. "Hello," says the long-haired boy at the door, smiling at them both. He looks about sixteen, the same as Chojuro. A messenger bag is slung over his shoulder and his hands are laden with heavy plastic bags. "Is Zabuza-san in?"

"Ahh you just missed him," Chojuro says apologetically, taking the bags from the boy's hands as he takes off his shoes.

"Nevermind, I mainly to here to deliver some food anyway. You must be the new tenant that Zabuza-san mentioned," he says, looking over to Ao.

"Yes. Ao."

"Haku."

They shake hands and Haku points at one of the bags. "I brought some food and groceries for you, since you're probably starving."

"You didn't need to," Ao protests automatically. "But thank you." His stomach rumbles a little at the notion of real food that isn't biscuits and rations. He'd wanted to go to the village, but with Mei and the others gone and Chojuro waiting for his friend to come by, there were no ghouls to escort him. Ao doesn't quite dare to go out alone yet.

"There's no need for thanks. I do some work for Zabuza-san and I tutor Chojuro a bit, so I come by regularly."

"Let's go inside!" Chojuro chirps.

* * *

"Frozen meat buns," Haku says as he takes a packet of them out of the plastic bags. "Pork," he clarifies, giving Ao a cheeky smile before stuffing it into the freezer. Ao gulps and tries to separate it from the rest of the freezer's contents without touching the latter too much. The wrapped packages are fine, but that bag of vaguely recognisable body parts? Ao doesn't want to look too closely.

Haku puts a whole fish into the freezer before opening the bottom part of the fridge, which has nothing except a few cold beers and various types of coffee. A large carrot, several tomatoes and potatoes, tofu, and a bundle of chives go in there, together with small bottles of soy sauce, oil and mirin. There is even a small tub of miso.

"These will last me a while," Ao says, feeling guilty for relying on Haku so much even though he's basically a child and a stranger. "I will pay you back somehow."

"No worries. Zabuza-san pays me more than he should for the work that I do, so it's no trouble to feed a guest of his. Besides, we're both humans!"

Ao chuckles awkwardly. He doesn't believe Zabuza thinks of him in such a friendly manner. "Please let me know if you need any help at all. I don't mind physical labour."

Haku smiles brightly. "You will have to get up at the crack of dawn for that. But I'll be sure to let you know." He shuts the fridge door and stuffs the plastic bags under the sink before heading to the dining table, where two containers of teriyaki chicken and rice have been set out. Popping open the lids, he hands one to Ao, who had grabbed utensils for both of them.

"Ittadakimasu," Haku says with a bow of his head.

Ao echoes him with the same and digs in hungrily as well. After a whole day and a half of dry rations, Ao almost moans at how heavenly it tastes. "This is amazing."

"Thank you. It's a pity that I can't cook for Zabuza-san or Chojuro, but at least there's someone around to enjoy this now."

"Watching you guys eat makes me want to try too," Chojuro says, his head braced against his palm as he stares at their food dreamily from the other end of the table. "You all have such variety."

Ao feels bad for the teen. Mei is always asking him how things taste too. "It's strange that only coffee is an exception to your diet. Maybe one day we'll find more things that you can eat too."

"I hope so," Chojuro sighs.

"Ao-san, how did you come to know Zabuza-san?"

"I didn't... but my wife Mei and he are old friends."

Haku's eyes brighten as Ao shows him his ring. "That's so wonderful. Your wife is a ghoul? How romantic. You must love her very much to come all this way with her."

Ao smiles crookedly and looks down at his food, embarrassed to be admitting such a thing in public. "I do." Chojuro dabs at his eyes and Ao quickly clears his throat. "How did you meet Zabuza-san, Haku?"

"Ah, he killed my father."

Ao's curiousity instantly morphs into horror. _"What?!"_ he barks.

Haku's smile doesn't falter. "My father killed my mother in a drunken rage and would have beaten me to death as well. I owe Zabuza-san my life and I would gladly let him eat me if he needs to." Then he takes a bite of his teriyaki chicken as if he'd said nothing out of the ordinary. Chojuro shoots him a sympathetic look but says nothing.

Ao swallows. "I see. I hope the village treats you kindly."

"They're afraid of Zabuza-san, so no-one dares to bother me."

Haku is always smiling when he talks about Zabuza. Ao hopes that the ghoul treats him kindly but he is not sure the brute is capable of it. Still, perhaps he should reserve his judgment when the boy is so clearly hero-worshipping him. Zabuza had gone out of his way to save Haku after all.

"I hope the way you met your wife wasn't as grisly."

It is much less tragic for sure. "I had been attacked and injured by a ghoul," Ao says, telling his story between bites of his meal. "I was sure I was going to die but Mei burst into the alleyway I was trapped in and saved me."

"She revealed herself to you even though you were a stranger?" Haku says in surprise. "It must have been love at first sight."

A small chuckle escapes Ao. He hadn't thought of it that way. "Perhaps. I don't know. But I had to woo her for a long time before she stopped trying to get rid of me."

Chojuro wriggles in his seat. "Ahhh I want a romance like that."

"Time for you to start patrolling the streets then," Haku teases.

"I think that would have an opposite effect." The teen's shoulders slump. "They're all terrified of me."

"I'm not," Haku says, reaching over to grasp his arm. "And I'm sure Ao-san isn't either."

Ao nods in agreement and Chojuro's face scrunches up as he sniffles.

"This is a small village but perhaps you can consider going into the city for university or work. Living in a city gives you a lot more anonymity, in a sense, because there's so many people. I'm sure Mei can give you some tips on how to blend in."

"That sounds wonderful," Chojuro says, brightening. But just as quickly as the dreamy look had appeared on his face, it disappears. "I-If I can make it, I mean."

"Of course you can!" Ao barks, making the kids jump slightly in their seats. He is a firm believer in the potential of every student and the power of hard work. "Be more confident in yourself. What's worrying you?"

The teen ducks his head. "I dropped out of school last year when we moved into this village. I've always been with the syndicate, so every time we moved bases, I had to move too. It was really hard to study like that... In the end, I couldn't keep up."

Ao nods contemplatively. "That's nothing to be ashamed of." There must be something they can do.

"A lot of ghouls face the same problem," Haku says with a small, unhappy frown. "Especially when they have to live in hiding. I've been sharing my notes with Chojuro whenever I can but I'm not a teacher."

Chojuro shakes his head rapidly at that. "I think you're better! You're very patient."

"Thank you," Haku says, smiling. "I try to teach Zabuza-san as well but he's a lot less cooperative than you are."

Ao smirks as he imagines Zabuza squinting at math problems and Haku shaking his head, slashing through the man's work with a red pen.

"Well, I'm finished," Haku says primly as he stands with his empty container in hand, "so why don't you get your notebooks out and we can go through the problems I gave you last time?"

As Chojuro goes to collect his things, Ao takes the container from Haku. "I'll do the dishes. It's the least I can do."

"Thanks, Ao-san."

 _'They're nice youngsters,'_ Ao thinks as he scrubs the plastic containers and rinses away the suds, before sighing to himself. _'They deserve better.'_ At least Haku seems to be doing quite well, if the confident way he's explaining concepts is any indication. But at Chojuro's age, trying to catch up on years' worth of work would be difficult. Even Haku won't be able to do much to prepare him for the gruelling high school exams. That, and the fact that Chojuro needs to be officially enrolled somewhere.

Ao makes up his mind as he sets the containers up on the metal rack to dry. The garden needs work, but so does Chojuro. He would help the young ghoul improve his reading and writing skills and they would figure out the rest once he sees how far along Chojuro is. With them being in a ghoul syndicate and all, surely it won't be impossible for them to pull some strings and register him for an exam eventually. It would do the boy good to have a goal and basic skills even if he does not get a certificate out of it.

"Haku, Chojuro," he says as he goes back to the table, where the two teens' notes have been spread over the wooden surface. "Mind if I join in?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Haha imagine Ao's face if he saw a whole bag of dicks in the freezer... because none of the ghouls want to eat them...

I don't know if when/if this will be continued but! We shall see :) Stay safe y'all!


End file.
